It was a more triumphant indie rock comeback tale than anyone could have expected. In 2014, almost 20 years after they broke up, British shoegaze icons Slowdive reformed.
This itself wasn't especially novel, plenty of their peers had done the same. And no one was especially surprised that the band's classic works still sounded brilliant at the live shows they played upon getting back together.
The reunion became exceptional when they released a new album, 2017's Slowdive, that was arguably as good as anything the band crafted in their initial existence.
With that new album came some of the most extensive touring the band had ever done, including a long-awaited maiden trip to Australia as part of the Laneway Festival in 2018.
Touring Australia wasn't really considered a viable prospect for the band in the 90s. Fact is, they weren't sure anyone down here cared.
"We were purely focused on Europe and North America," bassist Nick Chaplin says. "We weren't really aware of whether we had fans in that part of the world or not. Obviously, it's a lot easier now. People connect to bands a lot more easily than they did in the 90s."
The reunion wasn't really meant to go like this. Much as they enjoyed playing together when they first reformed, there was no consideration that Slowdive would become an ongoing concern.
"Everybody was juggling full time jobs," Chaplin says. "Initially, it was just a few concerts over one summer and then, if things went well, maybe we'd try and write some new music. Christian [Savill] our guitarist worked at a tech company for about two years through that period.
"Nobody was like, 'Oh, should we try and do this full time?' I mean we all wanted to do it full time. But it's just whether we could make it work. Because, you know, in our 40s, everyone's got responsibilities and mortgages and kids.
"This is a longer period of time in the band than we were together in the 90s. It's weird to think about it like that."
After they made the record and saw the demand for live dates around the world, they took the necessary leap of faith. Slowdive was going to be their focus for the foreseeable future.
"We were looking at the kind of venues that were being booked and we just thought, 'Well, if we don't take a chance on this now, then when are we ever going to take a chance on it?' Luckily, it's worked out for us so far, fingers crossed."
While appreciative of the overwhelmingly positive response their comeback album received - we called it the sixth best album of the year - Chaplin knows the band will have to work to get that same recognition again.
"There was a lot of goodwill for that record," he says. "I'm sure there's still goodwill out there, but we're not a novelty anymore.
"I think we all feel that a little bit more pressure on us this time around. Whereas before, we didn't really have anything to prove. So we'll see."
Songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist Neil Halstead recently let slip that Slowdive have finished working on their fifth album.
"I don't know what I'm allowed to say," Chaplin says when asked about the new record.
"I think it's a progression, but it's not a massive leap. It's still recognisably the band. I think we're all really happy with it."
Today the band have shared the new single 'Kisses', their first new music in six years and first taste of their new album everything is alive, which will be out in September.
It's a typically dreamy piece of indie rock that doesn't stray as far from the band's typical sound as some may have expected.
Halstead had said that he initially brought a lot of electronic-based music to the band, and Chaplin says the rest of the band processed those ideas and turned them into something that closer resembled the Slowdive fans are familiar with.
"I think Neil probably wanted to push it in a more leftfield direction," Chaplin says.
"He's sung and played guitar for so long now that I think he gets a bit fed up with that side of things. Like a lot of artists, he's discovered modular synths and analog electronics and stuff, and I think he wanted to bring more of that stuff in.
"But when the five of us get together, although you can throw elements of that in, there's always going to be something that makes Slowdive what it is, which is the five individuals. So, the rest of us probably reined it in a little bit so that it ends up being more like a Slowdive record than maybe Neil would have liked.
"But he's talented enough to make those sorts of records either on his own or with other projects."
The band enlisted help from Canadian engineer Shawn Everett, who's helped countless artists - SZA, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Adele, to name a few - make their records sound incredible.
"He brought kind of a different perspective to making the record sound a certain way," Chaplin says.
"Aside from two songs, we've worked with him at the end to do the mixes. That did bring a more. I don't want to say commercial sound, but it does sound a bit more grown up, I think. We're in our 50s now. We're not teenagers anymore."
Some of their fans are though.
Slowdive, along with a hefty handful of their 90s indie rock peers, have captured the hearts of teenagers in recent years.
"In 2014, it was primarily people that remembered us from the 90s. But even then, there was a cluster of much younger people, and quite a good male-to-female ratio as well.
"A lot of indie gigs can be quite, as we say, cock heavy, and we found that our audience was definitely not. Obviously having Rachel as, like, the front person sort of helps bring in female audience, and maybe the type of music does as well.
"Now, it's almost like the majority has swung closer to younger people.
"My daughter is 12. And she's like, 'Oh, yeah, my friends know your band', and not because of who I am. We're on their Spotify playlists alongside Phoebe Bridgers and people like that. It's definitely swung more that way, which is great. I mean, you can't ask for anything more than that."
A fresh fan base would help keep any band young, though Slowdive have no interest in alienating the people who've been with them for decades.
"We've always tried to be to be less about the legacy, and more about being a contemporary band that appeals to whoever, really," Chaplin says.
"That's not to say that we don't welcome the fans from the 90s. Of course we do. Because we are those people. But it's nice to have new people coming in as well."
You might expect this phenomenon to continue as Slowdive music appears in some key TV programs in the near future.
"We've never had any real high-profile syncs, but we do have a couple coming up for shows that are quite popular with the kids," Chaplin reveals.
"We're always happy to consider those things provided the subject is not hugely inappropriate. It's quite fun, especially if you've got kids, because that gives them real kudos at school, that their dad's got some music on some hit Netflix show."
As with most bands who formed decades ago, earning the praise of their kids is just as important - and far more challenging - than winning over critics or fans.
"All our kids think we're just a bunch of losers, you know?" Chaplin says. "They're probably not far off the mark.
"But when something happens that makes them realise, 'Oh, actually, Dad's not in a complete loser band. They might not be Phoebe Bridgers, but.' it's quite funny seeing their reaction. They're kind of shocked that that actually you might be in a band that people care about."
To have Slowdive back in Australia this July really is a treat. Before this tour, the band's only performance in 2023 will be at the iconic Glastonbury festival (as well as a warm up show). Before that, they'd played just nine shows in the past five years.
Eight of those were last year, when the band played a string of festival dates. Chaplin says the elongated break didn't seem to affect the band's live chemistry.
"I think we just slipped back into it," he says.
"It's always a struggle the first few days in the rehearsal room, nobody can remember anything. These songs that we've been playing for like 30 years, we can't remember how to start them, can't remember the words. But you get over that."
Coming back this time certainly felt a lot more natural than when they first reconvened back in 2014.
"It's more of a routine now," Chaplin says. "It's what we do now. We don't have day jobs anymore, whereas in 2014, we were like, 'Oh, we've got to book a couple of days off work'.
Everybody was really focused, in 2014, just to get an hour's worth of material. You know, the greatest hits, if you like, that we could play that people would want to hear. So we just concentrated on that. Whereas now, we've got to try and mix it up a little bit.
"I mean, people will want to hear 'When The Sun Hits', they want to hear 'Alison', they want to hear, 'Catch The Breeze', all that old stuff, but you can't just keep rolling that out every year, you've got to mix it up a bit. It's a bit more challenging now to keep it fresh, I suppose."
"We're all much more mature now," he says. "We all get on. We don't really hang out socially outside of the band, because we are so spread out all over the country. We stay in touch on WhatsApp and send each other stupid messages.
"I just don't think anything would break us up like it did in the 90s.
"I think it's possible that, maybe at some point, some of us might be like, 'Look, I need to have a break from this for a couple of years', and then we'd probably end up picking it up again down the road. I don't see us like having a big dramatic end."
As for why it's easier to keep Slowdive together now than it was in the mid-90s, it comes down to making sure the bills can stay paid.
"I hate to bring it down to cold, hard cash, but we are able to make a living from it now," Chaplin admits.
"We're not super wealthy, I live in an area outside Reading where everyone around me is probably more well off than I am, but they're all going into London on the train every day and sitting at a desk.
"Back in the 90s, we didn't make any money out of it at all. It was really hard to find rent. But it doesn't matter when you're 19, you're doing it for the for the craic, aren't you? Whereas now we've got families."
They also find general standards around the music industry to be a bit more accommodating than they were back in the band's first run.
"Everything is easier now," Chaplin says. "Gigs are easier. When we came back in 2014, we couldn't believe how nice it was playing gigs compared to how it was in the 90s.
"We can't complain about anything, we're super privileged to do what we do. And I think everybody just keeps that in their heads."
Slowdive play the following shows. Tickets are on sale now.
Monday 17 July - Astor Theatre, Perth
Wednesday 19 July - Princess Theatre, Brisbane
Friday 21 July - Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Saturday 22 July - The Forum, Melbourne
Sunday 23 July - Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide
everything is alive is out Friday 1 September